Chemical Engineering July 2013 - 17

Since the beginning of 2011, the
company has been running its Dream
Production Miniplant (Figure 1),
which is now operating continuously
and producing sample amounts (kilograms)
for internal testing of the new
material, says project leader Christoph
Gürtler. The miniplant uses CO2 that
has been captured from the fluegas of
a lignite-fired power plant operated by
RWE in nearby Cologne.
BMS is now testing the polymers for
potential applications. By mixing the
CO2-based polyether polycarbonate
polyol with isocyanates, the company
is producing samples of polyurethane
foam for testing. Initial results show
that the material containing CO2
match those made the conventional
way. If the new process continues to
produce good results, Bayer intends to
start industrial production of polyols
with CO2 from 2015.
Meanwhile,
a lifecycle analysis
(LCA) has been performed by RWTH
Aachen University, and the results
were reported last month at the International
Conference on CO2 Utilization
(June 23-27; Alexandria, Va).
The LCA analysis shows that the new
materials do have a better carbon footprint
than those made by conventional
methods. " This is mainly due to the
savings of fossil materials and replacing
them by CO2, says Gürtler.
Another " dream " reaction is the direct
synthesis of acrylate from CO2
and alkenes, says Michael Limbach,
a chemist working at the Synthesis
and Homogeneous Catalyst Dept. of
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen; www.basf.
com) and the Catalyst Research Laboratory
of the University of Heidelberg
(CaRLa; both Germany; www.
carla-hd.com). Metal-catalyzed oxidative
coupling of CO2 with alkenes or
alkynes is one of the most attractive
routes to acrylates, but finding a suitable
catalyst has eluded researchers
for over 30 years, he says.
Until now. Last year, Limbach and
his colleagues from BASF, CaRLa,
and hte AG (Heidelberg; www.htecompany.com)
reported the first synthesis
of sodium acrylate from CO2,
ethylene and a base. The group developed
a homogeneous organometallic
catalyst based on nickel as part of the
three-year, €2.2-million ACER project
funded by BMBF, with BASF and hte
adding an additional €1.7-million for
the next few years. Sodium acrylate is
a key ingredient for high-performance
polymers,
such as superabsorbent
polymers used in diapers. The project
aims to further develop the direct route
to acrylates as an economical alternative
to current production methods,
which use fossil-fuel-derived propylene
or propane in a two-step oxidation
process, says Limbach. He estimates
the current global-market volume for
acrylic acid at approximately 4 million
ton/yr. Although CO2 is a cheap source
of carbon, a great deal of expensive
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Chemical Engineering July 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering July 2013
